Battle if the Snow - As told by me

” As I have said, it would be most unwise for us to oppose the Vaegirs and Swadians. It would be much better for us to ally with them”, said Jarl Tim. It was not the first time he had suggested this; in fact, he had suggested this so often that the loud protests that initially followed the suggestions had now been replaced by sighs and boredom.

Then the jarls heard footsteps coming towards the great door. A small group of them. As all whom had decided to come was already there, they were unsure of who this could be. They waited with anticipation as the footsteps reached the door. Then it opened and their anticipation turned into shock.

It was Smug Alpaca, the former king who left the kingdom some time ago. And at his side stood the former Rhodok king known as Nether. “My friend, I see that our once great kingdom is declining, and as such, I have returned to save it.” He looked around the hall, meeting the gazes of the surprized jarls, and then locked his eyes on Tim. “Jarl Tim, I hear that you have become a Vaegir sympathizer. This is unacceptable! How could you side with our ancient enemies?”

“Well, my lord, you see-“

“Shut it. I have no ears for your excuses. In fact, I suspect that you are a Vaegir spy, intent on weakening the kingdom in my absence.” His eyes stared intensely at the jarl, as if he intended to burn a hole in him with them. “Leave my hall. Run back to your feeble masters or I will have you beheaded and feed your remains to the crows.”

Tim left, as fast as he could. The hall was silent, as the jarls were stunned by the display they had just seen. Nether broke the silence by suggesting a toast for Alpaca. The jarls complied and soon the silence had been replaced by idle chatter. Many were curious as to what Alpaca intended to do next, but he told them before they could ask.

“I want you to gather all the troops and ships you can spare. Ensure that your warriors are capable, for we have a hard fight in front of us.” He made a short pause. “You see, I intend to take Rivacheg, once and for all.”

* “You are sure of this?”, asked Saultnami, acting ruler of the Vaegirs.

“Yes, my lord”, replied Tim. “Smug will move on Rivacheg soon. We have to stop him.”

“And we will. This is not the first time the foolish Nords have tried to take the Rock. It has ended badly for them before and it will do so again.” He turned to the royal chancellor. “Send word to the boyars. Tell them to gather their troops and meet us at Curaw. From there we shall move to Rivacheg and crush this attack. If what Tim says is true, then the city of Wercheg will be easy to take once the Nord army is defeated.” Saultnami turned back to Tim.

“For your service, you shall be rewarded, Boyar Tim. To you I give Kelredan castle.”

“Thank you, my lord.”

“Don’t thank me yet. You will be coming with me on this campaign. Prepare yourself, for we may be gone for a long time.” With that, he left the throne room and went to the armoury, in order to prepare for the coming campaign. * The snow fell over Rivacheg. Saultnami looked over the combined Vaegirs army and smiled. Boyars from all over Vaegeria had come with their troops. And not only that, but some of the Swadians had joined them as well. With this, they could surely repel the Nords and claim more land for the ever-growing Vaegir nation. A kilometre to the north was the shore where the Nords would land, and next to it was the now abandoned fortress known as the Rock. It was there that Sault intended to face the invaders. * The sea was rather calm on this day, which was most useful to the Nordic king. He stood at the front of his personal longship, The Alpaca¸ and took in the sea breeze and the falling snow. Winter had come early this year.

He turned back and went to the helm of the ship, passing his greatest warriors. Besides the helmsman there were two people at the helm: Nether, Alpaca’s closest advisor, and a man, known for his incredible skills, rubbing his great long axe.

“My lord, we will reach the shore in but an hour. Odds are that it will be covered in snow when we get there”, said Nether.

“Ensure that the men are ready to fight as soon as we disembark. We will turn the snow red if we need to”, responded the king.

“Yes, my lord.” Alpaca returned to the front of the ship while Nether bellowed out commands to the captains of the nearby vessels. On the shore he could see the Vaegirs forces preparing a defence. The king grabbed his trusty axe. Now we will crush these weaklings, he thought. * An hour later, the ships reached the shore. The Nords were met with silent ruins of the castle town which had been burned down decades ago. The warriors gathered on the shore, eager for instructions.

“Warriors”, shouted Alpaca as he left his ship. “We have returned once again to this wretched rock that has held us back for so long. This time, we shall take it and we shall burn it!” Cheers erupted amongst the Nords and the king had to wait for it to stop before he continued. “Once this fortress falls, there will be nothing stopping us from taking Rivacheg and claiming revenge for the many embarrassments we have suffered at the hands for these pathetic Vaegirs. Trust me, there will be many skulls for us to drink from once this battle is over.” Again, the Nords cheered. “Here is what we will do. Half of you will follow Nether as he leads you into the tunnels under the castle. The other half follow me as we make our way up this hill. Are you with me?” A third time they cheered, even louder than before “Good, then let us go. For glory and for our people!”

The final cheer was the loudest of them all, and when it ended Alpaca began moving towards the castle. His troops quickly formed up around him. Together they marched up towards the castle, through the archway where a gate might once have stood. A feint whizzing sound was heard and, before long, arrows befell them.

“Form a shield-wall”, commanded Alpaca. The troops did as he ordered and the arrows now faced a wall of wood and steel. But advancing would be very risky, as there were archers along the whole inner wall. They would have to hold until an opportunity arose. * Saultnami was pleased with the battle at the moment. Although the Nord shield-wall had formed quicker than expected, they were now held up in the opening, unable to push forth without suffering heavy losses. This front was under control.

A messenger ran up to him. “My lord, the Nords are pushing heavily underground. By now they might have taken the cavern.” “Damn. We cannot let them attack us from below.” He turned to the archers on the wall and shouted. “Ten of you, come with me. The rest of you will hold them off.” He turned back to the messenger. “I will personally go and repel them in the tunnels. Tell the boyars to follow me.” He then stormed off with his archers and personal guard towards the tunnel entrance. The tunnels were poorly lit and his memory of them was not as good as he thought. He ordered the soldiers to go forward and stall the enemy while he awaited the boyars. Once they arrived, he led them and their retinues through. But it was difficult to navigate through tunnels that had remained unused for a long time. Frustration grew as the group stumbled slowly forth, often finding themselves going the wrong way.

“Who built these damned tunnels?”, exclaimed one, whom Sault recognised as the ruler of Ismirala. He could not blame the boyarina. By the time they reunited with the soldiers he had sent forth many of them were dead.

“My lord, thank the Vague God you are here. The Nords have almost broken through.”

“They will get no further.” Sault turned to the boyars and their troops. “Hold the here. Ensure that none get through, otherwise they might attack us from behind. I will return to the surface and send more troops.” * The shield-wall still held, despite the constant arrow fire for the last fifteen minutes. Alpaca noticed that some of the archers had left around ten minutes ago. Soon he might be able to push forth. It all depended on whether or not Nether was doing good. Now he saw more of them leave the wall. This was his chance.

“Warriors! Push forward! Take the courtyard!”, he shouted. The nordic soldiers moved forward, slowly at first, but they sped up as soon as they realized the arrows coming towards them had severely decreased in number. The Vaegirs on the wall were unprepared and their volleys, as their coordination was lost and the rain of arrows became scarce and easy to block. It was easy for the Nords to take the courtyard. The enemy sent cavalry in response, but the mighty nordic axes made short work of the horses. The courtyard was firmly in Nord hands. * Sault swore when he heard of the Nords taking the courtyard. If he could not retake it, there was little chance to hold the castle. He was tempted to pull some troops from the tunnels, but knew that he could not afford to lose them either. There was only one thing he could do: retake the courtyard with the troops that were here.

“Boyar Tim, gather up whatever troops we can spare and join me in a last gamble for the courtyard.”

“Yes, my lord.” It was clear that he was nervous, even if his voice did not show it. While he rounded up several guards and a few knights, Sault put on his war mask and mounted his horse. His bardiche was at his side, sharp and ready to cleave through Nord flesh. The troops gathered up behind him and he turned to face them.

“Comrades, this is it. Our last chance. Either we take the courtyard and push them back; or we lose both this and Rivacheg. If there is any moment where we should give all, this is it. Are you ready?” They nodded. “On me then. URAAAAA!”, he said as he set of. “URAAAAA”, they answered, in unison, as they followed him into battle. While charging down the hill, Sault swung his bardiche in a long arc, ending in a Nord’s chest. The charge went well initially, stunning the Nords and allowing the Vaegirs to push into their midst.

But then the Nords regrouped and quickly surrounded the Vaegir troops, gradually cutting them down. Sault managed to get out with the help of his knights, but many others were not so lucky. Tim tried to follow but his horse fell to a great long axe and he was taken prisoner. The surviving Vaegirs retreated, knowing that the battle was lost. The army was almost completely annihilated and the few that survived ran as far as they could, shattering any hope for a defence of Rivacheg.

Rivacheg Rock had fallen, and with it, the great city of Rivacheg itself.

THE END

Submitted November 19, 2017 at 07:24PM by Richardios http://ift.tt/2hNIP7Z